Broken Vows
by SapphyreSkye
Summary: Aileen's life is certianly no fairytale. So what is a poor Irish girl to do? Especially when she gets involved where she shouldn't. (Spot-lover Fic)


Disclaimer: Newsies and such are copyright to Disney. I own Deborah and Aileen and their families, that's about it..  
  
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"Abeunt studia in mores. Ab incunabulis. Av ovo usque ad mala. Absit in.invi.Damn!" Aileen muttered, grabbing the Latin book from Deborah.  
  
"Invidia," Debbie said in her quiet voice. Aileen spared her childhood best friend an emerald look of exasperation.  
"I could have remembered that," she muttered, burying her nose in the book. Deborah smiled and steered her aggrieved companion around a large mud puddle along the garden walk. For her part Aileen didn't really notice, the Irish girl continued to study Latin, cramming for the test. At last she gave up, snapping the book shut firmly and handing it back to Deborah. "That's it, it's official. I'm going to fail Sister Florence's test. That's all there is to that."  
Debbie shook her head. "That's not necessarily true. You've always been good at remembering stuff in a bind. This will be just like all those other times."  
Aileen looked over at her friend glumly, every line of her body claiming disbelief. Deborah smiled her normal calm smile, blue eyes hidden behind thick black lashes. Most of the girls at the St. Cecilia School for Catholic Girls hated Deborah. She was the embodiment of everything that the Sisters expected of their pupils. Debbie was soft-spoken, intelligent, diligent, and zealous in her following of orders and religion. She was also one of the most beautiful girls in all of New York City, much less the little corner of Brooklyn that they inhabited. She had men and boys hanging on her every word but she refused to acknowledge or accentuate her dark beauty. Aileen was jealous of her friend all the time but she never let it eat at her. Some things in life were just dealt the way they were dealt. You couldn't change what was already there; you just had to make due. Still Aileen couldn't help but wish that her hair was dark rather than a shocking shade of strawberry blonde or that her face wasn't so covered in freckles. True the freckles were a mere dusting compared to say her brother's! Still, she couldn't help but dream of being even noticeable standing next to Deborah.  
Deborah took back the Latin book and sighed.  
"Absit invidia. Ab uno disce omnes. Ab urbe condita. Absus non tollit usum. Ad arbitrium. Ad astra per aspera."  
  
**********  
  
"So how did you do?" Deborah asked her as they met up to walk home.  
Aileen looked at her friend sullenly then looked down at her scuffed shoes. "You were right."  
Deborah smiled and Aileen couldn't help but smile back happily. It wasn't something humanly possible to resist that innocent childish grin. The girls walked to their houses, cheerfully exchanging gossip and news and odd tidbits they'd learned. Halfway home, they stopped at their normal meeting spot where they met up with the girls from the other school across the way, St. Matthew's Protestant Girl's Reformatory. These girls lived in their neighborhood as well but were obviously Protestant. Buying a frozen cream drink, the gaggle of schoolgirls tramped home in companionable chatter. They passed by catcalls and well wishers alike, gently bobbing their heads when needed. Slowly girls began to break away from the group, calling out good-byes and waving as they entered buildings. It was down to Aileen and Deborah in minutes and the pair walked up to their building, parting ways on the second flight of stairs. Deborah went into her apartment while Aileen continued up to the third floor apartment held by she and her family.  
On silent feet, the young woman crept into the apartment. She passed the kitchen, gazing into it fearfully. Dishes lay calmly on the table; some were sitting in the sink. The smell of dinner wafted out to her. Then she heard a soft thud. She turned, listening intently as she caught her breath. There was another thud from her mother and stepfather's room. Aileen licked her lips nervously, torn between wanting to help her mother and knowing what would happen if she did. With a heart of lead and silent prayer to God and all the angels, she tiptoed past their room, cringing at the sharp sounds of her mother's cries. Once upon a time those had been cries of pleasure, Aileen had recognized the change even as a child. She had always smiled, then innocent of what the cries truly meant but childishly happy when her mother and stepfather cuddled in the living room while she did schoolwork.  
Years had passed though and now the cries that came to her room in the middle of the night were anything but pleasured. They were forced, pain-filled sobs now and Aileen always wanted to rush in and make Dylan stop but she knew that if she did he'd turn his frustration on her. Cowardly, Aileen remained in bed, crying in frustration and fear. When she'd been little Brendan had come to her room and the siblings would hold each other through the night, waiting with bated breath for the sunrise. But Dylan had sent Brendan away, realizing that Brendan was reaching the age of unmanageability. Would Dylan send Patrick away as well? The thought froze Aileen's blood in her veins. Surely Dylan wouldn't send the younger boy away. Patrick was Dylan's son, Aileen's half brother. There were only two things left to her in the world it seemed; God and her father's memory.  
With frightened angry tears streaming down her cheeks, Aileen clutched her lapis and ebon-stoned rosary.  
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." 


End file.
